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Hello! I’m Anjali. I’m a board certified health coach, author, wife, mom and food lover from the SF Bay area (now living in Seattle, WA!); with a passion for delicious food and a desire to make healthy eating easy, tasty and fun! Learn more about me here and stay for a while!

Anjali Shah

Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks Recipe

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One of America’s favorite snacks just became healthier with these air fryer mozzarella sticks. This recipe is so easy and full of delicious flavor. Makes a great snack or appetizer, and is perfect for happy hour or a game day party too!

air fryer mozzarella sticks served on a wooden cutting board with tomato dipping sauce

Mozzarella sticks are one of those comforting appetizers that bring people together around a table. They are ooey gooey cheesy goodness. I have fond memories of meeting up with a group of friends at a chain restaurant and ordering a basket of mozzarella sticks to share. It was something everyone could agree on, and we all dug in. With a crunchy outside, and a warm melty inside dipped in your favorite sauce, mozzarella sticks are a classic American appetizer that are sure to please a crowd.

Not typically thought of as a healthy food, restaurant style, traditional mozzarella sticks are breaded and deep fried. These air fryer mozzarella sticks retain all that stretchy melty cheesiness we all love, but use whole wheat breadcrumbs, and no oil to create a crunchy breaded outer shell without the added fat and calories.

air fryer mozzarella sticks served on a wooden cutting board with tomato dipping sauce, top view

How To Make Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

Recipe Ingredients and Notes

These gooey mozzarella sticks can easily be made with simple ingredients found at your local grocery store!

ingredients for air fryer mozzarella sticks

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks: Use any brand of mozzarella string cheese you like!

Whole Wheat Flour and Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs: For the breading on these homemade mozzarella sticks. You can also use all purpose flour or almond flour if you don’t have whole wheat flour.

Dried Italian Seasoning, Salt and Pepper: For seasoning the breadcrumb mixture

Eggs and Olive Oil Spray: To help the breading stick to the cheese sticks!

Tools and Equipment

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: Freeze the uncooked mozzarella sticks, either still in their individual package or on a cookie sheet. Freeze until fully firm (about 3 hours) or you can also freeze overnight. Leave in the freezer until you’re ready to prepare.

Step 2: Pour the flour, panko breadcrumbs, and eggs into three separate bowls. Add pinch of salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning into the breadcrumbs.

breadcrumbs mixed in a bowl

Step 3: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking oil spray, set aside. Roll each frozen mozzarella stick in the flour making sure to thoroughly coat it on all sides.

mozzarella stick dipped in flour

Step 4: Then coat cheese sticks in the egg mixture, again making sure it’s completely coated.

mozzarella stick dipped in egg

Step 5: Next, dredge in the seasoned breadcrumb mixture and making sure to fully coat the entire cheese stick.

mozzarella stick dipped in breadcrumbs

Step 6: Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet and continue until all of the cheese sticks have been breaded. Place the breaded mozzarella sticks in the freezer for 10 minutes, do not discard breading ingredients.

mozzarella sticks laid out on a baking sheet

Step 7: After freezing for 10 minutes, make sure your air fryer is ready to go and that the basket is on the counter. Dip the frozen cheese sticks into the remaining egg wash a second time.

mozzarella stick dipped in egg

Step 8: Next, dip into the remaining bread crumb mixture and then lay inside the air fryer rack. (It’s not necessary to spray the battered cheese stick again with the oil spray, but you can if you’d like.)

mozzarella stick dipped in breadcrumbs

Step 9: Continue until you have enough sticks to fit comfortably in the basket without overcrowding.

mozzarella sticks in air fryer

Step 10: Set air fryer to 390 F and 5 minutes. Cook the sticks for 5 minutes, flip and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. Remove from air fryer and place on a serving dish.

air fryer mozzarella sticks completed in air fryer

Step 11: Continue air frying the remaining mozzarella sticks in different batches until all have been fried. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce or any other dipping sauce of choice.

air fryer mozzarella sticks served on a wooden cutting board with tomato dipping sauce

What Makes These Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks Healthy?

  • Lower in Fat: These mozzarella sticks are lower in fat because they are fried in the air fryer without oil versus deep frying these sticks.
  • Added Whole Grains: Most mozzarella sticks are breaded with white flour and breadcrumbs made from white bread. These mozzarella sticks are made with whole wheat panko breadcrumbs and whole wheat flour, making them higher in whole grains and less processed than traditional fried mozzarella sticks.
  • High in Calcium: Mozzarella cheese sticks are naturally high in calcium. One stick has 15% of your recommended daily calcium.

Recipe FAQs

Will kids enjoy these delicious Mozzarella Sticks?

Kids will absolutely love these! Most kids enjoy eating cheese sticks for snacks. These mozzarella sticks have a crunchy and flavorful outer crust, without added spice, and gooey cheese in the center. Pair it with your kids favorite dipping sauce!

How long do you cook mozzarella sticks in the air fryer?

These mozzarella sticks require 7-8 minutes of total cook time. They need to be flipped at 5 minutes, and cooked for an additional 2-3 minutes in a preheated air fryer at 390 F.

HOW DO YOU MAKE AIR FRYER MOZZARELLA STICKS CRISPY?

The key to making air fryer mozzarella sticks crispy is the double coating of breadcrumbs and using the cooking spray to make sure the coating sticks to the mozzarella. Flipping the mozzarella half way through also ensures that you get a crispy shell on all sides.

air fryer mozzarella sticks served on a wooden cutting board with tomato dipping sauce, top view

How to Serve

These mozzarella sticks pair well with a variety of dipping sauces. Give these sauce ideas a try!

  • Homemade Marinara Sauce or Tomato Sauce
  • Ranch Dressing
  • Honey Dijon
  • Ketchup
  • Mustard

Expert Tips for Making Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

  • Freeze mozzarella sticks prior to air frying
  • After you bread the sticks the first time, freeze for at least 10 minutes before breading again.
  • Make sure your air fryer is preheated and ready to go before adding mozzarella sticks.
  • You can switch up the seasonings if you’d like! For a more “Mexican” inspired mozzarella stick, try using a mix of chili powder, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder (instead of the Italian Seasoning).
  • Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. To reheat, warm the oven or air fryer to 350 degrees and heat until warmed through.
air fryer mozzarella sticks served on a wooden cutting board with tomato dipping sauce

Check-Out These Other Air Fryer Recipes!

If you have tried these Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOKTWITTERINSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!

air fryer mozzarella sticks served on a wooden cutting board with tomato dipping sauce, top view
Print Recipe
5 from 6 votes

Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

One of America’s favorite snacks just became healthier with these air fryer mozzarella sticks. This recipe is so easy and full of delicious flavor. Makes a great snack, or appetizer for your next party.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Freeze3 hours 10 minutes
Total Time3 hours 28 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Calories: 150kcal
Author: Anjali Shah

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Freeze the mozzarella cheese sticks, either still in their individual package or on a cookie sheet. Freeze until fully firm (about 3 hours) or you can also freeze overnight. Leave in the freezer until you're ready to prepare.
  • Pour the flour, panko breadcrumbs, and eggs into three separate bowls. Add pinch of salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning into the breadcrumbs.
  • Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking oil spray, set aside.
  • Roll each frozen mozzarella stick in the flour making sure to thoroughly coat it on all sides. Then dip  into the lightly beaten eggs, again making sure it’s completely coated. Next, dredge in the seasoned breadcrumbs and making sure to fully coat the entire cheese stick. Lay on baking sheet and continue until all of the cheese sticks have been breaded.
  • Place in the freezer for 10 minutes, do not discard breading ingredients. After freezing for 10 minutes, make sure your air fryer is ready to go and that the basket is on the counter. Dip the cheese stick into the remaining beaten eggs, then into the breadcrumbs and then lay inside the air fryer basket. (It’s not necessary to spray the battered cheese stick again with the oil spray, but you can if you’d like.) Continue until you have enough sticks to fit comfortably in the basket but without overcrowding.
  • Set air fryer to 390 F and 5 minutes. Cook the sticks for 5 minutes, flip and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes until golden. Remove from air fryer and place on a serving dish. Continue air frying the remaining mozzarella sticks until all have been fried. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce or any other dipping sauce of choice.

Notes

Top Tips for Making Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
  • Freeze mozzarella sticks prior to air frying
  • After you bread the sticks the first time, freeze for at least 10 minutes before breading again.
  • Make sure your air fryer is preheated and ready to go before adding mozzarella sticks.
  • You can switch up the seasonings if you’d like! For a more “Mexican” inspired mozzarella stick, try using a mix of chili powder, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder (instead of the Italian Seasoning).
  • Flip after five minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1stick | Calories: 150kcal | Carbohydrates: 11.7g | Protein: 10.4g | Fat: 7.2g | Saturated Fat: 3.8g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 328mg | Potassium: 11.5mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 0.5g
img src=”https://pickyeaterblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/99540afd99b0a22aad2ba3d3b5df2f14.jpg” alt=”” class=”skip-lazy wp-image-22183″/>

Posted In…

Healthy Plant Based Snacks ·

Who can resist a good snack? From easy, healthy vegetarian snacks, to kid-friendly finger foods, to perfect party dishes, my plant based snacks are an amazing way to pack a lot of flavor into a little bite.

Try my air fryer tofu nuggets, these peanut butter bliss balls, delicious corn fries, instant pot popcorn (or for a kid friendly twist – unicorn popcorn!)

Skip the pre-packed grocery store snacks! These healthy snacks are fun and easy to make at home with good-for-you ingredients.

16 responses to “Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks Recipe”

  1. Hi Anjali

    Can I try this recipe with almond flour instead of wheat flour, any tips that you would suggest if I am using almond flour.

    • Hi Hema! You can use almond flour — it should work pretty similarly to the wheat flour as long as you are still using the panko breadcrumbs with the almond flour to give it the right texture!

  2. I think I need to buy an air fryer just to make these mozzarella sticks. I have a deep love for fried cheese and I’m excited to try them in a healthier way.5 stars

    • Fried cheese is the best!! I definitely don’t regret purchasing my air fryer – there are so many great ways to use it and this recipe is the perfect place to start!

  3. Mozzarella sticks are such tasty treats at any time, and frying them in an air-fryer is by far the easiest method. 🙂5 stars

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